It was a big night for Ugandan cinema at Fantastic Fest as Bad Black, the latest film from Wakaliwood’s leading director Nabwana Igg, pulled off a major upset by winning the audience award for best feature.
Even by the standards of Fantastic Fest, a home to underdogs and a bastion of radical tastes, this is stunning win for a nation with no major film industry, and a director who has to scavenge and cannibalize equipment and props to get his movies made. It was a doubly glorious night for Igg, who didn’t simply win the popular vote, but also took the jury award for best action feature director.
Here’s the full list of winners: Congratulations to everyone.
Audience Award
Presented by Maxwell Locke & RitterAudience Award Winner: Bad Black directed by Nabwana Igg
1st Runner-Up: Nirvanna The Band The Show directed by Matt Johnson
2nd Runner-Up: Raw directed by Julia Ducournau (read our review here)
Next Wave Features
Best Picture: Zoology directed by Ivan I. Tverdovsky (read our review here and our interview with Tverdovsky here)Best Director: Julia Ducournau for Raw
Special Mention for Fantastic Spirit: The Lure (read our review here)
Fantastic Features
Best Picture: Colossal directed by Nacho VigalondoBest Director: Amat Escalante for The Untamed
Horror Features
Best Picture: The Autopsy of Jane Doe directed by André Øvredal (read our review here)Best Director: Colm McCarthy for The Girl With All The Gifts (read our review here)
Comedy Features
Best Picture: Down Under directed by Abraham ForsytheBest Director: Abraham Forsythe for Down Under
Special Mention for Best Comedy Debut: The Young Offenders (read our review here)
Action Features
Best Picture: Age of Shadows directed by Kim Jee-woon (read our review here)Best Director: Nabwana Igg for Bad Black
Special Mention for Best Action: Call of Heroes
Documentary Features
Best Picture: Original Copy directed by Florian Heinzen-Ziob & Georg Heinzen (read our review here)Best Director: Florian Heinzen-Ziob & Georg Heinzen for Original Copy
Short Fuse: Horror Shorts
Best Picture: “Curve” directed by Tim EganBest Director : Tim Egan for “Curve”
Special Mention: “Overtime”
Special Mention: Najarra Townsend, lead actress in “The Stylist”
Fantastic Shorts
Presented by ChillerBest Picture: “Summer Camp Island” directed by Julia Pott
Best Director : Chris Mitchell & Yoav Lester for “Iron Spyder”
Shorts With Legs
Best Picture: “Paco” directed by Catalina Jordan AlvarezBest Director: Calvin Reeder for “The Procedure” (read our interview with Reeder here)
Special Mention for Best Meal: “The Worm”
Fantastic Arcade
Most Fantastic: Everything by David O’ReillyAudience Choice: Loot Rascals by Hollow Ponds
Fantastic Bumpers Competition
Presented by Shiner Beer“Jack Skellington in the Box” directed by Roman Fruehan
Fantastic Fest 2016 Sept. 22-29 at the Alamo South Lamar. Tickets and info at www.fantasticfest.com, and follow our ongoing coverage at austinchronicle.com/fantasticfest.
This article appears in September 30 • 2016.